Christmas Break

My last few posts have not been terribly cheerful. There has been some good in my life in the last couple of weeks. I think I need to take a few minutes and focus on the goodness in my life.

The first Sunday evening of Christmas break we had our annual Christmas dinner and Nativity with the Wises, plus playing bells and candy bar exchange. It wouldn't be Christmas without it. The Wises have graciously adopted us and they are our Sunnyside family. Annie and Maddie opted to be angels this year in the Nativity.

It is quite the production. There are 4 boxes of costumes for the kids to choose from, which is fortuitous since the group can be quite large some years. Elizabeth opted not to participate, but sat along the sidelines watching with the other adults. We sang several songs.

Monday night was Christmas Caroling. I think we had 7 families meet up at the church. Each family brought some cookies and we made up cookie plates for each house we caroled to. I think we made 7 stops, so each family had the chance to give a plate of cookies. It's a sweet experience to surprise people with songs and treats.

Tuesday, Christmas Eve was... a day. A sad and numb day. I am glad I had everything wrapped and prepared ahead of time. It's seriously the most on-top I've been. Often I have a few things left to wrap, and this year I didn't. Monday I felt the urge to have everything just done, and I am grateful for that tender mercy. I could be on auto-pilot, and everything worked out.

Christmas!

Annie and Maddie are really into the whole FFA vibe these days. We had some hand-me-down boots from a cousin, and some very cheap cowboy boots that Annie and Maddie had been wearing and they were ready for the real thing. They were pretty excited over the boots.

The aftermath of the presents wasn't as bad as it could have been. We have a system of putting all of the wrapping paper in a garbage bag as soon as it's off the present. Then we had our usual waffles and sausage for breakfast. We played one of our new games, watched a movie, and then had already made plans to go caroling again with the missionaries before I got the news that my dad had died. I stuck it out through most of the stops, but was really struggling by the end. We had planned to visit an older sister in a nursing home after the caroling, and I ended up just letting my family go while I stayed home. Ryan and the girls made dinner.

Friday, December 27th we drove up to the Moses Lake Temple to do baptisms as a family. Fridays my father-in-law works at the temple, so we caught a couple quick glances and a hug. Afterwards, we drove to my father-in-law's house to hang out with cousins. We only stayed a couple of hours maybe because I was just not in the mood for a lot of people. 

Saturday evening we celebrated Ryan's birthday. Ryan has been a trooper through all of this. He made his own birthday dinner (the kids helped, but let's face it-- he was not going to let the kids try their hand at something as important as a lamb roast) and was in charge of getting something he liked for dessert. I have not been my usual self. 

Sunday was Ryan's actual birthday. We attended church, and then immediately left afterwards to drive to Wenatchee for nephew Dash's baptism. Ryan and Dash share a birthday. I had made up tuna for sandwiches before church, and assembled the sandwiches in the car as we drove. No one likes squished tuna sandwiches, but no one was excited about premade peanut butter ones either. So it was sandwiches, apples, and some zebra popcorn we'd been given as a Christmas gift as a chaser for the boring sandwiches.

After the baptism and early dinner, we drove to Leavenworth to enjoy the beautiful Christmas lights since we were so close. It was wetter than we were expecting- so many puddles on the sidewalk. 

There is a photo of me and Ryan in Leavenworth, but it's painful for me to look at. I look gutted and kind of dead on the inside.